Volcano Watch: Kilauea activity update for August 2, 2018

(Activity updates are written by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Hawaiian Volcano Observatory.)

During this morning's overflight, the ocean entry laze plume was being blown offshore, allowing this fairly clear view (looking northeast) of the Pohoiki boat ramp at Isaac Hale Beach Park. Incandescent (glowing red) spots of lava can be seen within the flow field beyond the boat ramp. HVO geologists also observed a few oozes of lava on or near the western flow margin, but all appeared weak as of 6:00 a.m. HST. Photo taken Thursday, August 2, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

During this morning’s overflight, the ocean entry laze plume was being blown offshore, allowing this fairly clear view (looking northeast) of the Pohoiki boat ramp at Isaac Hale Beach Park. Incandescent (glowing red) spots of lava can be seen within the flow field beyond the boat ramp. HVO geologists also observed a few oozes of lava on or near the western flow margin, but all appeared weak as of 6:00 a.m. HST. Photo taken Thursday, August 2, 2018 courtesy of U.S. Geological Survey

On KÄ«lauea Volcano’s lower East Rift Zone, lava continued to erupt primarily from fissure 8, feeding a channelized flow to the main ocean entry near Ahalanui Beach Park. At the coast, as of August 2, the flow remained less than 0.1 mile from the Pohoiki boat ramp at Isaac Hale Park. Sulfur dioxide emissions from the active fissure remain high. Residents in the lower Puna District of Hawai‘i Island should stay informed and heed Hawai‘i County Civil Defense closures, warnings, and messages (http://www.hawaiicounty.gov/active-alerts).

At KÄ«lauea’s summit, collapse events continued to occur during the past week, releasing energy equivalent to earthquakes of around magnitude-5.3. Ongoing subsidence of Halema‘uma‘u and adjacent parts of the caldera floor resulted in frequent felt earthquakes at the summit. Three or more felt reports were submitted for 51 of the earthquakes that occurred in Hawaii during the past week.

At Mauna Loa, HVO seismic and deformation monitoring networks indicate that the volcano is no longer at an elevated level of activity. Accordingly, HVO dropped the Mauna Loa alert level to NORMAL and the aviation color code to GREEN on June 21, 2018. HVO continues to monitor the volcano closely and will report any significant changes.

Please visit HVO’s website (https://volcanoes.usgs.gov/hvo) for past Volcano Watch articles, Kīlauea daily eruption updates, Mauna Loa weekly updates, volcano photos, maps, recent earthquake info, and more. Call for summary updates at 808-967-8862 (Kīlauea) or 808-967-8866 (Mauna Loa). Email questions to askHVO@usgs.gov.

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